Why did Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and others address UK PM Keir Starmer in a letter? Musicians' demand to check ticket resale costs explained

Coldplay, Radiohead, and Dua Lipa are among the many artists urging Keir Starmer, the UK's Prime Minister, to honor his election manifesto and introduce a cap on ticket resale prices. During the 2024 general election in the UK, the Labour Party's manifesto included policies about consumer protections concerning ticket resales.

In January 2025, the government introduced a public consultation to address touts or resellers who "are systematically buying up tickets on the primary market and reselling them to fans at often hugely inflated prices."

During the consultation, the government added that it was considering implementing a cap on resale costs, suggesting a 0% to 30% uplift on the face value of a ticket. On October 5, 2025, Ian Murray, the U.K.’s culture minister, confirmed that the government was working on a plan to implement a price cap on resale tickets.

However, since then, there has been no progress, resulting in artists such as Coldplay and Dua Lipa signing an open letter urging Starmer to take action against the "extortionate and pernicious” websites that resell tickets at exorbitant prices.

According to the Guardian, the joint statement, published on November 13, added that new protections were needed to “help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre and sports they love.”

“For too long certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing fans to either pay above the odds or miss out entirely. This erodes trust in the live events sector and undermines the efforts of artists and organisers to make shows accessible and affordable," the statement said. "Introducing a cap will restore faith in the ticketing system, help democratise public access to the arts in line with the Government’s agenda and make it easier for fans to spot illegal behaviour, such as ticketing fraud,” it added.

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Coldplay and Dua Lipa join fellow artists and organizations like the Featured Artists Coalition to advocate for a ticket resale price cap

In May 2025, Coldplay's official X account responded to a fan's frustration about high ticket resale prices, adding that the band was in talks with the UK and the US to bring about legislation that prohibited "resale for excessive profit."

On November 13, Coldplay signed a joint statement along with Dua Lipa, PJ Harvey, Iron Maiden, and Bastille, among others, calling for Keir Starmer to introduce a cap on ticket resale costs in the U.K. The statement was also co-signed by various organizations, including consumer choice organization Which?, the Featured Artists Coalition, the Fan Fair Alliance, and Music Venue Trust.

The statement was backed by a new investigative report from Which? that highlighted the global ticketing resale operation targeting the U.K.'s ticketing industry. The report claimed that groups of scalpers located in Dubai, Brazil, the US, Singapore, and Spain often participated in bulk-buying tickets for concerts and sporting events in the U.K., before selling them at inflated prices for profit on websites such as Viagogo and StubHub.

According to Billboard, the report further stated that it had found multiple cases of speculative selling, which meant that ticket resellers sold tickets at marked-up prices on secondary sites to fans without having purchased the tickets themselves.

The signed statement has urged Keir Starmer to consider a price cap on ticket resale and "commit to this legislation by including it in the next King’s Speech.” Lisa Webb, Which?'s consumer law expert, added in a press release:

“Further reforms are also needed to ensure sellers actually own the tickets they advertise before listing them, that resale platforms ensure the identities of sellers and key information about a ticket are verified and that the new rules are effectively enforced.”

Here is a list of all the artists who have signed the statement urging Keir Starmer to enforce a cap on ticket resale prices:

• Alfa Mist
• alt-J
• Aluna Francis
• Amy Macdonald
• Andro
• Bastille
• Ben Howard
• Brix Smith
• Charlotte OC
• Coldplay
• Dana Margolin (Porridge Radio)
• Dua Lipa
• Graeme Park
• Howard Jones
• Idlewild
• Iron Maiden
• Johnny Marr
• Keane
• Kelli-Leigh
• Low Island
• Mark Knopfler
• Mogwai
• New Order
• Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Nick Mason
• Nubiyan Twist
• Orlando Higginbottom
• PJ Harvey
• Quantic
• Radiohead
• Revenge of Calculon
• Robert Mitchell
• Robert Smith (The Cure)
• Sam Fender
• SNAYX
• Sweetie Irie
• The New Eves
• Travis

Here is a list of all the organizations that have backed the statement urging Keir Starmer to enforce a cap on ticket resale prices:

• Fan Fair Alliance
• Featured Artists Coalition
• Football Supporters Association
• LIVE
• Music Managers’ Forum
• Music Venue Trust
• Musicians’ Union
• O2
• Society of London Theatre & UK Theatre
• Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR)
• UK Music
• Which?

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Coldplay performing at Audacy's Eighth Annual "We Can Survive" Concert (Image via Getty)

In other news, Coldplay's Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland will perform a special charity show at Hackney Church in London on December 3, 2025. The proceeds from the Coldplay show will go towards Crisis and War Child. Tickets can be purchased through a prize draw, which will close on November 17, and 150 randomly picked winners will be gifted two tickets each to the show.

Edited by Juhi Marzia